Four mares, Anežka, Greta, Xara and Spela, were moved to the zoo’s facility in the small village of Dolní Dobřejov station in preparation for the flight on Monday.

For the transport, the Czech Army were to use a CASA C-295M aircraft.

The aircraft is due to land at an airport in Bulgan, Mongolia, today (Tuesday).

The following day, the horses will be released in an acclimatization game preserve in Gobi B, a wildlife preserve in the Gobi Desert.

Prague Zoo has a long and proud history in preserving the endangered Przewalski’s, and founded a captive breeding program aimed at reintroducing them into the wild. It has been breeding the horses since 1932.

Today, five horses live at the zoo while an additional 20 are kept at Dolní Dobřejov.

The zoo plans to keep sending horses back to their original homeland.

Przewalski’s horse is native to the steppes of Central Asia and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.